Oct. 20, 2013
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by John Bacon, USA TODAY

by John Bacon, USA TODAY

Two recaptured Florida murderers who used forged paperwork to obtain release from prison had "a lot of help" and more arrests are expected, state officials said Sunday.

The release of Charles Walker and Joseph Jenkins, who walked out of the same prison 11 days apart, has rocked Florida's criminal justice system.

The men appeared before a judge Sunday, hours after they were taken into custody, unarmed and without incident, at the Coconut Grover Motor Inn in the Panhandle tourist town of Panama City Beach.

Each was booked on one count of escape, denied bail and scheduled for another court appearance Friday.

"They had to have had help - and a lot of help," Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey said Sunday.

Department spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger told USA TODAY that officials can't say for sure that more convicts are not free on fake documents.

"We are still working on that," Plessinger said. "But no one we know of is still out there."

Plessinger said there are reports that such documents are available for $8,000 but said it was speculation at this point.

"Now that the manhunt is over, we can turn our attention to how these documents were forged and how this all happened," she said.

Jenkins and Walker, both 34, were serving life sentences at Franklin Correctional Facility in Carrabelle -- about 100 miles from the motel where they were nabbed Saturday. The forged paperwork indicated their sentences had been shortened to 15 years.

The men had each been convicted of unrelated murders -- Jenkins in 1998, Walker in 1999. Jenkins was released Sept. 27, Walker on Oct. 8.

In both cases, prison officials contacted the convicts' families to notify them in advance of the releases. Jenkins uncle, Henry Pearson, picked him up at prison; Walker's family couldn't make it, so prison officials put him on a bus.

Both men even registered as felons at an Orlando jail within days of their release, as required by law. They were photographed and fingerprinted, but since no outstanding warrants had been issued, they walked out without notice.

Plessinger said authorities found out about Jenkins' release Tuesday after the family of the man he killed, Roscoe Pugh, told prosecutors. The subsequent investigation revealed that Walker also had been released based on fake documents.

Authorities immediately began contacting people who visited or called the men at the prison. Commissioner Bailey said a tip led authorities to the motel. The convicts were under surveillance for more than two days before being surprised when authorities knocked on their door.

Bailey said it was not clear if the men had acted in tandem. They were not together for most of the time they were free, he said. He said authorities have learned that the men were planning to leave Florida soon.

Their release led to changes. The Department of Corrections now will contact a judge to verify that inmates' sentences have been reduced, department secretary Michael Crews said.

Pearson said he was shocked to learn last week that his nephew was not supposed to be free. On Saturday night, he heard about the captures while watching TV. Soon after, a law enforcement agent called his home and let Jenkins speak with Jenkins' wife.

"He just said that he was OK and that he loved us," Pearson said. "We have a great sense of relief because we did not know how this would end up."